


Another shot

by KudaKo375 (KudaKo)



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: AU restart, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-04-06 05:42:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4210113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KudaKo/pseuds/KudaKo375
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naegi and his fellow survivors have been given a chance to save the lives of their friends. Will they succeed in their plight? or will they fail and be forced to go through the killings again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I dont own Danganronpa, nor do I own any of its characters

I lifted my groggy head from the hard desk that it had been laying on. My head was pounding and my eyesight was hazy from my uncomfortable slumber. Taking a second to rid the blurriness of my vision, I started to take in my surroundings that were all too familiar. The iron plating, the security camera and the crudely drawn entrance leaflet left on the teacher’s desk. It was all here. My stomach began to churn as the reality of my situation became clear. This was the exact classroom I had woken up in when I first got into Kibougamine academy.

I remember leaving the academy with my friends, my fellow survivors. I remember Kirigiri saying that she looked forward to repairing the world by my side. I remember reaching for her gloved hand before my world went black and know here I sit in my despair-inducing situation.

"My friends have to be nearby right... right?" At this thought, I dashed out of the classroom to be met by a familiar banshee-like scream of a wild haired shaman.

"AHHHHHHHHHH G-G-G-GHOSTS" 

The scream ricocheted down the hall and it caused a ringing sound to start in my ears even though it came from around the corner. I already knew who the owner of the scream was before I saw them so I wasn’t surprised when Hagakure came running around the corner flailing his arms around like a psycho. He was still shaking violently and had an almost funny expression of shock on his face. He was muttering so quickly that I couldn’t make out what he was saying

"wo wo wo Hiro calm down" I said in calming tone and he seemed to relax a bit as evidenced by the fact that he wasn’t flailing and thrashing his arms about anymore.

"Naegs, dude I think we're dead!" he exclaimed 

"What?" I know Hiro isn’t the sharpest but still this notion is just stupid

"I just saw Celes walk past me and she even nodded and said hello to me dude! I think we are in heaven or something" 

His words began to sink in and I couldn’t stop my mouth from dropping open. "You just saw Celes? What? That’s crazy, we saw her burn alive and then get crushed” 

“I saw her alive and kicking dude, true as truth!”

“Hiro did you wake up in the same place you did on the first day?"

In response he gave me a nod

"Hmmmm… surely there is no way… it’s crazy to think… but do you think we're back at the start of the killing game? Because everything has been exactly the same as when we first got here, even to the smallest detail" I muttered 

"What? Like time travel or something? That’s impossible...right?" He replied 

"Well yeah… or at least it should be right? No it can’t be... No way did we travel backwards in time, it would be dumb to think that right?" 

He gave me a shaky nod and an uneasy smile. I could tell that inside he was having a major breakdown. His arms were incredibly fidgety and his eyes would not stop flitting around nervously. I wasn’t doing much better my stomach was swirling and tossing itself about and my heart was beating at an unhealthy rate. I took a series of deep breaths so that I could clear my mind and calm my nerves. I started to speak as slowly and calmly as I could.

"Well I guess we have no choice but to go to the entrance hall. Hiro we just need to be calm, even if everyone is alive we need to act normal so we don’t seem suspicious. Just say what you said at start of this whole thing okay?" 

He gave me another nod before saying: "Y-Yeah, Naegicchi, let’s do it, let’s go” We started making our way towards the entrance hall, Hagakure walking slightly behind me seemingly shaking with anxiety. The halls we walked through were eerie with silence bar the sounds of our footsteps. When we made it to the large wooden door that lead to the entrance hall I put my hand on the door handle and looked at Hiro for confirmation on his readiness, he gave me an uneasy nod. I swung the door open with a little more than force then needed and entered the room. 

What I saw was nonsensical. Unbelievable. Inconceivable. 

My peers were all gathered in the entrance hall just like the first time around, including the deceased. They weren’t the corpses I last saw them as, they were walking, talking, breathing and most importantly alive. My face was a portrait of surprise and Hagakure was no better in hiding his own shock as he let out a gasp and jumped a good couple of feet into the air. If we had truly travelled back in time then no one would remember me, except maybe the other survivors considering Hiro remembers, and Junko would still be watching us from her camera’s that covered the school. I just have to play it cool and be inconspicuous. Easy right? I stuttered out my intro to the crowd 

“H-Hey there urmm I’m Makoto Naegi, super high-school Good luck. N-Nice to meet you”

“And I am Yasuhiro Hagakure, Super high-school level Clairvoyant, but you can call me Hiro” Hagakure added after his less then graceful landing.

My head was sore to say the least from having to absorb the things going on around me. I started to zone out because I needed to sort things out in my head and calm down. 

“ _What the hell is going on? And how?” “Just calm down Makoto. You’re only seeing your dead friends. No biggie. You need to just stay calm_ ”

 I kept repeating this mantra until I got my breathing under control and stopped the light shaking that was happening in my knees. Ishimaru, Someone I last saw lying in a pool of his own blood because of the greed of a fellow student, positioned myself in front of me and pointed an accusatory finger at me 

“Naegi, Hagakure how could you dishonor yourselves by being tardy on such an important occasion” His voice boomed so loud that it echoed throughout the room

“Are you seriously blaming him for being late” said a voice from across the room.

It took me a few seconds to realize that I was looking at Mukuro Ikusaba and not Junko Enoshima. Now that I had seen both of them I could see subtle differences like the freckles that adorned her nose and cheeks. She is kinda cute but considering what she did to me; my friends, my family and the rest of the world, it’s hard to see her in any over way than scary.

From there on out it was like a bad case of Déjà vu. Me and Hiro made our introductions for the second time and it was hard to see the faces of the victims and worse to see the blackened culprits among us. When I got to Fukawa I couldn’t help but notice her shaking and just overall jitteriness, to be fair she was always like this but not to this degree. She gave me a shaky version of her intro that she gave me on the first day I smiled at her and said

“It’s nice to meet you Fukawa, I’m a fan of your work” 

I gave her a bright smile and she then gave me a look that was both surprised and skeptical. She then gave me a slow nod and I was pretty certain she at some sort of familiarity with me. 

I then moved onto Togami. As I approached the Heir and immediately noticed something. His usual condescending and arrogant glare was no longer there. It was instead replaced by an observatory stare. He stuck his hand out to me and said 

“Byakuya Togami, Heir to the Togami conglomerate”

While shacking his hand I replied with a smile “Makoto Naegi, Heir to nothing” 

This was a test. The Togami I knew when I first met him would’ve turned his back on me with disgust and called me a peasant or cretin or something else offensive, however the Togami I knew when we left the academy would hopefully act a bit differently. Expecting to be berated I was surprised to see a small smile creep onto his lips. 

“Good to meet you Naegi” 

“You too Togami” 

It was slightly jarring to see Togami smile a genuine smile that was neither a smirk nor a cocky grin. Well this was good though, it seems to have some recognition of me as he was less apathetic about our meeting then the first time and he was just, in general, being less of an ass-hat. Next was Aoi Asahina. Usually the morale booster of our group who always used to wear A over-energetic grin, it was unnatural seeing her furrowed brow and worried expression. 

“Uh hey there, Aoi Asahina right? The swimmer. I’ve seen you on magazines and stuff” 

“Urmm yeah nice to meet you Naegi”

“Asahina, how do you feel about cherry blossoms?”

This question caught her off guard and she left the question hanging in the silence. I waited with baited breath, hoping she would notice my not so subtle hint towards Sakura. 

“They are okay I guess that’s kinda weird you’d ask tha…. Oh… OH yeah I like cherry blossoms”

I nodded and smiled, happy with her reply. I was worried she wouldn’t catch on for a second there. It seems everyone had their memories intact so far. Only person left from the survivors was across the hall, watching me intently. As I approached her I could almost feel her purple irises scanning me with precision.

“Hello, I’m Kyouko Kirigiri”

“Nice to meet you… so what’s your talent or ability or whatever?”

I reply, trying to feign ignorance so that I don’t seem suspicious to the person that I know is watching us. 

“I’d rather not say right now… Is that okay?” 

“Urrm that’s fine I guess”

I can see a bit of disappointment in her eyes as she is about the turn away. I need to think of a way that I can show that I remember without the mastermind catching wind 

“S-so are you much of a reader Kirigiri?” She looks at me with surprise before replying

“Yes I am. Why do you ask?”

“Oh just wondering” I say with a smile that will hopefully be familiar to her “So what authors are you into then?”

“Oh a couple. For example, I enjoy Stephen King… And you?”

“Oh well I like Arthur Conan Doyle but other than that I’m not really an avid reader”

She quickly picked up on my Sherlock Holmes reference as an attempt I know about her detective lineage. She gave me a smile, it was reassuring to see that she had retained her memories. She always looks beautiful when she smiles, not to say she doesn’t when she isn’t but her attractiveness sky-rockets when she does. 

Lost in thought, I didn’t notice the person creeping up behind me. I whirled around when the finger tapped me on the shoulder and I was greeted by the person I was dreading to see most. Sayaka Maizono was positively beaming at me when I turned around. In all honesty I wanted to throw up and hide under the bleachers.

“Hey you’re Makoto Naegi? Do you remember me at all?” This person, that tried to use me as a scapegoat for her own murder, was regarding me as if I was her long lost friend with her massive smile and friendly tone. I wanted to act like I was happy to see her but I was unable to stop the nagging voice in my head saying that she used me. However, Could I really blame her for all of it? Considering the situation? Everyone wanted to get out and she was no exception. All the events that happened here was all Junko’s fault, she was irredeemable in my eyes. I believe that I can save Maizono from herself, or at least try my hardest to.

“ _Remember what Kirigiri said about her wanting to save you and that she was unsure whether to go through with it…_ ” I said to myself in the hopes that it would help speak to her and it did a bit. We talked about middle school and so on. During our conversation I could feel a pair of lilac eyes watching me with concern. Soon enough we were interrupted by the monitor in the corner of the room blinking into life and all too familiar voice beckoning us to the gymnasium. To avoid suspicion I fabricate my surprise as does Hina and Hiro while Fukawa, Kirigiri and Togami stay quiet. I exit the hall with the others knowing I’m about to face the two-toned nightmare for the first time. Again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naegi finds himself scouting out the first floor again with a familiar face and then has a talk with some fellow survivors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa nor do i own any of its characters

I walked into the spacious gym and stood in the center, awaiting the black and white menace that is Monokuma. When everyone had entered the room, Monokuma popped out and starting giving his presentation of the mutual killings and its rules. To be perfectly honest I kinda started to tone it out since I already knew what he was going to say. Instead, I used the time to get to grips with my situation and decide what I needed to do. Everything went exactly like it did the first time with Oowada assaulting Monokuma and Kirigiri telling him to throw the beeping bear-bomb.

Soon enough, Monokuma had finished his introduction to our new, or in some of our cases not so new, academy lives and disappeared into thin air like he usually did. Everyone stood frozen to the spot until Kirigiri spoke up "So are we just going to stay here and glare at each other? If you have not already noticed, now is a time for action"

"Y-you are right" Ishimaru stuttered out "I am sorry that I let myself hesitate, someone please feel free to hit me as punishment”

Oowada muttered something about Ishimaru being weird which caused the latter to frown a bit.

"What do you have in mind Kirigiri?" I asked. "We look around the academy and try to find anything helpful. Information is vital so we should start immediately" This earned nods from the like's of Celes and a couple of others.

"Let’s split up into groups of three and take an area each" said Togami while walking towards Fukawa and Aoi, who were frantically whispering each other Thank god that Togami didn’t decide to go off by himself like the first time because if he did it would have pissed off Oowada and last time that happened it ended up in me getting knocked out cold in front of everyone, hardly my finest hour.

“Kirigiri, you want to look with me?” I ask with a bright smile.

“Okay, Naegi, but we should grab someone else before we go” She replied while looking over to Hiro who was nervously running his fingers through his puffy hair. As we were about to grab Hiro and leave a certain idol called out my name.

“Naegi, would you mind looking around with me? If it isn’t too much trouble” Her voice was almost hypnotic as she cooed my name. I wanted to say no to her but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Was Maizono manipulating me already? Did she really have such an effect on people? Was she even doing it on purpose?

“I’m going with Kirigiri” I said while shrugging awkwardly “But I’m sure it’s okay if you come with us, right Kirigiri?”

The detective shot me a look before giving a nonchalant shrug and replied “I’m okay with that”

“Brilliant! Let’s get going then” Said Maizono with a beaming smile. Maizono grabbed my arm and started dragging me away from the confused crowd. I turned around to see if Kirigiri was tagging along which she was, even if she did look a little annoyed at our rather abrupt departure. Before leaving I mouthed a sorry to Hiro who was now talking with Leon and Yamada and he just gave a tiny nod as a response.

We made our way round the first floor of the academy for what felt like the hundredth time for me but I had to for Maizono’s sake. Now that I have been with her for a while the incessant voice nagging at me had vanished and I was finally starting to cope with talking with her. Maizono and I chatted about our youth and reminisced about ‘The good old times’ of our old school life while Kirigiri followed us wordlessly.

After what felt like a life time, we finally finished scouting out the bottom floor of the academy and made our way to the cafeteria. Surprisingly, we were the first ones there so we took our seats and waited for the rest of our classmates to show up. After about ten minutes, Togami strolled in with Hina and Fukawa either side. He regarded us with a nod and sat down opposite to myself. Hina sat opposite Kirigiri who was sitting on my right and Fukawa sat opposite Maizono who was on my left. Soon enough more and more people started to filter into the room, including a distraught Ishimaru who was more upset then he should have been about being one of the last into the cafeteria. We grouped around the large table at the back of the room and discussed what we found on the first floor. I contributed my group’s findings to the rest of the group and in turn everyone else shared what their groups had found. Towards the end of the meeting, Celes proposed her curfew to us like she did the first time and we agreed as we did before.

When we had finally finished our meeting, I let out a drawn-out yawn. It was like a wave of fatigue washed over me and I was instantly exhausted. It had been a long, long day full of confusing and baffling moments. I want nothing more than to just collapse on my bed and sleep this situation away. However, I need to make sure that the other survivors had retained their memories. Considering Hiro has his memories and given our introductions, I am pretty sure that they do but I just need to make sure. As everyone dispersed, I picked my first person to speak to. Togami left first with his usual long strides.

Bidding my farewell to the two girls I was sat with, I made my exit out into the hall. The heir was making his way to his dorm room and I jogged to catch up. I tapped his shoulder to get his attention and he spun around to face me.

“What?” he spat as he turned around. His face softened slightly from its venomous glare when he realized he was speaking to me. “Ah, Naegi” He said “I would have thought you were spending time with Maizono”

I frowned slightly at the thought and shook my head at him. I needed a way to communicate what I wanted to say without the mastermind hearing it. My eyes scanned the hallway and noticed a certain clairvoyant walk into the boy’s toilet to my right. I could now congregate some of the members in one place in secrecy. I nodded to the toilets where Hiro had just entered. “Hold on, I’m going to head to the toilets” My eyes flicking between the blonde boy in front of me and to the cameras as I spoke to him.He noticed my rather obvious attempt to send him a signal,he nodded and followed.

Inside the toilets, Hagakure was at the furthermost urinal going about his business. “Yo Naegi-chi and Togami-chi, what’s up?” He went for a high-five but considering where his hand had just been I just shuffled around him awkwardly. “Oh… okay then” The Shaman muttered while frowning. “Anyways, what do you think happened? Do you think it was witchcraft or something?"

I made an involuntary squeaking noise at his bluntness. Togami’s eyebrow was cocked and his eyes held a look of contempt as he looked at the shaman. “How could I possibly know? Also, how in hell would you have explained that if I didn’t retain memories?”

The shaman merely waved him off as I made a sigh of relief “I would’ve come up with something”

“Togami, did you speak too Fukawa and Asahina when we scouted around the first floor?” I asked.

The heir nodded “Yes, Fortunately they have kept their memories. I managed to stop Fukawa from having a meltdown and Asahina was just out of it completely”

“ Well, at least they remember” I was relieved to hear that they were, for the most part, okay. However, I had someone else on my mind that I needed to ask about. “Do you know about Kirigiri?”

“No, I don’t know about your girlfriend” He replied while giving an exhausted sigh. I couldn’t stop my face from going a rose colour, which earned a chuckle from Hagakure “I suppose you can handle talking to her about this, sooner the better, and tell me what happens” His voice was commanding and direct, I suppose the Togami blood in him is kicking in.

“Y-yeah I can do that” I said meekly

“What do you want me to captain?” Hiro chortled while giving a sarcastic salute.

“You? Just stay out the way and look out for any dangers”

“Dangers? Like what?” Hiro asked.

“Although everything up till now has been the same, we can’t predict if a subtle change in what we do will change the overall outcome” the Heir said.

“We can’t let people die this time! We have a chance to safe our friends and we have to risk any dangers that arise because of it” I shouted, a little bit louder than intended.

“I’m not suggesting that Naegi. As a Togami I will defeat that Ignorant despair-fetishist and save our classmates” Vowed Togami, his voice holding that commanding tone.” We must be vigilant, look out for anything that is odd or different from the first time round and report anything you find to me”

Though I do believe that Togami is less icy then he was previously, I think the promise he made was more because of personal pride and not letting himself get beaten by Junko then compassion for his classmates but that was just how Togami is I guess.

"Well I’m gonna hit the hay, cya later dude’s!” Said Hiro while walking out the toilet door I nodded my farewell to him with a smile.

Togami followed Hiro to the door with long gait and before leaving turned around to me “I believe you have someone to go see”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, Im not gonna lie, not really happy with this chapter but itsbeen long long overdue and im sorry but ive been on holiday and ive had a minor-ish family drama with my aunt so ive been caught up so sorry :3 Hopefully now im less busy chapters will be more frequent and of a better standard... anyhow this chapter is mainly just exposition and set u before we get to the cool shit so stay tuned peeps  
> Souda out


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa, nor do i own any of its characters

I stood outside the door to Kirigiri’s room with my hand hovering a couple of inches from the doorbell. The likelihood of her not remembering were rather remote considering everyone else had clung onto their memories, however a part of me still worried.  
To be fair, my worry had some merit as Kirigiri had lost most of her memories while the rest of us had only lost our school time so it wasn’t impossible to think that her memories could be compromised.

Finally realizing that I had been just aimlessly staring at the door for nearly a minute, I pressed the doorbell. After a couple seconds, Kirigiri appeared in the doorway.

“Hey Kirigiri, I was wondering if I could talk to you quickly”

Without a word, Kirigiri’s head poked out into the hallway and checked both sides of the hallway. When she was sure that the coast was clear, she grabbed me by the lapel of my blazer and dragged me into her room.  
Before I could stutter out any objections, I was practically thrown into her bathroom. Kirigiri followed me into the room and then promptly shut the door behind her and locked it. She then turned to me with an analytical stare and scanned me from top to bottom which made me pretty self-conscious. We stood there for a couple moments in an unbearable silence.

“Due to your lack of surprise, I suppose you remember me, correct?” Her voice was barely louder than a whisper

“Y-yeah I do remember… and so do the other survivors” I slightly shaky voice.

She breathed a sigh of relief and let a small smile grace her lips. “That’s good, at least all of our memories are intact” Her voice was still quiet and discreet.

“I don’t suppose you have any idea of what happened?” I asked

“No idea, looks like we are searching for answers once again” She replied while bringing her gloved hand to rest on her chin. Her smile had faded away into her usual neutral expression that gave me no inkling to what her thoughts were.

“Yeah, I guess we are” I said with a slight frown “But it’s not all bad, we have an opportunity to right the wrongs and save our friends” I tagged on trying to lighten the mood.

“Yes that is true, however, we need to be wary about what we do and how we do it” She muttered

In response I gave a slight nod “Togami said something similar, we just need to be careful, right”

“If only it were that easy” She sighed while staring at the floor

I gently tapped the underside of her chin so she would look at me directly and with a bright smile I said; “Well we survived this school one time didn’t we? We can do it again and with what we know we can beat Junko and get everyone out of this place”

The mask started to fade as the small smile was re-etched into her features. “Yes, I believe we can” Her voice was determined and less quiet then it was previously. “Naegi, report anything you consider out of place to me, okay? No matter how trivial it may seem”

“Uh-yeah I can do that” I responded

She nodded and then turned to leave the bathroom but I quickly grabbed her by the wrist before she could.  
She spun around with a slight blush blossoming on her pale face. She opened her mouth to speak but I was quicker; “Kirigiri, I want you to promise me that you won’t burden yourself with everything and let me help you more then you did last time” She looked away and didn’t respond so I continued “Please Kirigiri, I want to help as much as I can”

“O-okay then, if that’s what you want then I will try to include you more often” She replied and fidgeted awkwardly “But only if you make me a promise”

“Oh sure, what is it Kirigiri?” I asked inquisitively

“Promise me that you won’t get yourself hurt… or worse” She said, her voice quieting again “Don't do anything stupid, okay?”

“Yeah, I promise not do to anything stupid” I smiled.

I lifted my hand and pointed my pinkey finger out in her direction. Her tiny smile turned into a mischievous smirk and looked at me with a single cocked eyebrow.

“This again? I swear you act like a five year-old sometimes” She complained. 

“Yes this again now give me your pinkey” I requested after a light chuckle

Our fingers coiled around each other and we both gave a slight squeeze. My face started to heat up slightly as i smiled. She was looking away from me but I could see pink tinge her cheeks.

“So, what now?” I questioned

“We wait for the motive to come out, you should spend some time with Maizono and try to steer away from any thoughts of murder. Also, I’ll get Asahina to spend as much time as she can with Oogami, try to make her think twice about possibly betraying us”

“Oh right yeah, I totally forgot she is the masterminds mole. I think we can stop her from doing anything like that though”

She nodded and turned to the door “I guess we should get going now”

“Yeah, I guess so”

“Come find me tomorrow and we will organise plans for when the motives start coming out” She said just before unlocking the door.

The door’s made a small click as it was unlocked and we exited into Kirigiri’s room. “I’ll see you later then Kirigiri” I said while walking towards the door to the hallway

“We have an hour or so till curfew I think, do you want to grab something for dinner?” She wondered while I was opening the door.

“I think I’m gonna give dinner a miss tonight, I just want to get to sleep and forget everything for a while. But if you want we could grab breakfast together in the morning, o-only if you want that is” One of my hands shot up to awkwardly rub my neck

“Yeah, I’d like that” She mumbled while she following me out of the door

“Great! I’ll see you tomorrow then” I beamed while waving my goodbyes. Kirigiri had already set off down the hallway to the cafeteria but waved back to me as she walked away.

I turned to my room door and pushed my key into the lock and turned it but before I could push the door open I was interrupted by a shrill voice.

“Wow you sure do work quickly Naegi” Said the two-toned mascot “I’m not gonna lie, I’m impressed and oddly proud of you”

“Leave me alone Monokuma, I’m really not in the mood to be dealing with you”

“You can’t do something of that nature and not expect me to be curious” He said. “Sooo are you gonna give me the dets of what happened in there?” He panted with fake sweat pouring down his metallic face. ”Did you get all wet ‘n’ wild in the shower together?”

To this I promptly slammed the door on him and locked it. With a heavy sigh, I walked across my room and collapsed on my bed and closed my eyes.

Today had been draining to say the least and boy did my body feel it. After only a few seconds of resting my head on my all-too-comfy pillow I felt myself slowly slip into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I don't own danganronpa nor do i own any of its characters

**DING DONG DING DONG**

"Good morning, you bastards! It’s 7 in the morning! Time to wake the fuck up!"

I slowly lifted my head from off my pillow and made a loud groan of protest. In my infinite wisdom, I left on all of my clothes on last night meaning they had become incredibly creased during the night. I lazily rolled out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. After a couple of tugs at the handle I remembered the problem with the frame, so I pushed the handle up and then forward and it creaked open. Flicking the light switch on as I pass, I walked into the bathroom. “ _I guess Monokuma doesn’t have to tell me about that now and if he questions why I knew what to do I'll just say I guessed or something”_

When I was finished in the shower, I dried my hair and brushed my teeth and upon looking at the mirror I couldn’t help but notice the dark bags underneath my eyes. Last night had been rough, I just couldn’t stop thinking about what happened when we were about the leave the academy. It had plagued my thoughts and caused me to get barely a wink of sleep. Nothing in our situation made any sense but I guess I should just push it to one side and concentrate on what’s important which is saving my friends, for now at least. No doubt Kirigiri and Togami will want to search for answers when/if we get out of here. 

I left my room and made my way to Kirigiri's. Within a couple seconds of pressing the doorbell, Kirigiri appeared in the doorway

“Good morning Naegi”

“Good morning” I reciprocated with a smile on my face.

Her hair was lacking her usual braid and black ribbon and it also seemed wet due to its dark violet colour opposed to the usual, lighter, lavender. I also noticed that her jacket and tie were strewn haphazardly on the purple bed behind her.

“Did you just step out of the shower?” I asked.

“Yes, I didn’t expect you to be here this early to be honest.” She answered “If you want, you can come in and wait for me” She moved away from the doorway to let me inside. I gave a curt nod and walked over to her bed to sit down. Kirigiri disappeared into her bathroom before returning a couple of minutes later with a towel, she then sat next to me.

“So how did you sleep last night?” I inquired.

"I slept well, thank you. I would ask you the same but considering those dark patches under your eyes I can have a pretty good guess at what my answer will be" She said while picking up a hairbrush from the desk at the side of the bed.

"Yeah, I didn’t sleep well last night" As if in cue, I let a drawn-out yawn escape my lips to which she cracked a small smile. She had finished running the hairbrush through her hair and was now fiddling with it. I shuffled over to her and put my hand on the back of her palm “Here, let me”

“A-are you sure?” A small amount light pink coloured her cheeks.

“My sister would force me to help her with stuff all the time and her hair was one of them” I replied “So eventually I got decent at it, but I’m hardly amazing”

“You have a sister? You never mentioned that you had a sister before”

“Yeah, Komaru…” My thoughts quickly shifted to the video used in the first motive that I would be seeing again in the near future. After defeating Junko, I wanted nothing more than to find my family waiting for me at the exit. Alas, here I am… still in the academy in a life or death situation. Not knowing where your family are, or even if they’re alive, is a spine-chilling and daunting feeling to say the least.

My thoughts were interrupted by a gloved hand landing on my shoulder. I looked into her amethyst eyes, full of concern and worry, and gave a sad smile. “Are you okay?” she asked while patting my shoulder awkwardly in an attempt to comfort me.

“Yeah I am, I’m fine” I really wasn’t but there wasn’t any point in letting her worry about me.

She didn’t look convinced whatsoever but fortunately she decided to drop the subject. I picked up a section of her hair and started the braid. “I’m surprised you know how do to this Naegi”

“I haven’t done this in a while, so bear with me” I said while concentrating on my current exercise. She sat still as a statue, her hands frozen onto her knees, as I sorted out her hair. After I had finished I tied the black ribbon into it, she then went to the bathroom to check my handiwork.

“So how did I do?” I questioned expectantly as she re-entered the bedroom.

“It’s great, thank you” She responded with a small smile, much to my relief.“I suppose we should go get something to eat” She grabbed her jacket and tie from the bed and headed towards the door. Acquiescing to her request, I followed her out of the room.

After making our way to the cafeteria and grabbing our food, myself and Kirigiri sat down together at one of the smaller tables. Asahina was busy chatting to Oogami at a different table with a donut in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. Leon was eating with Hiro and Ishimaru at the far side of the room. Taka acknowledged us with an over-enthusiastic wave while Hagakure and Leon just nodded in our direction.

We sat in complete silence but it wasn’t an unpleasant or awkward silence, we just enjoyed being in each other’s company which was fine by me. When we finished our meals, I offered to go get a drinks which she accepted. When I returned, a certain idol was sitting next to Kirigiri.

Maizono greeted me with a bright smile “Good morning Naegi”

I reclaimed my seat next to Kirigiri, facing opposite to Maizono, and placed the coffee that I made in front of her. “Hey Maizono, sorry about not getting you a drink” I said apologetically.

She gave a small giggle before replying “Why are you apologizing? Unless you’re an esper you wouldn’t have known I was here” I inwardly cringed at the memory of when we were first put inside this academy. After a moment of awkward silence Maizono spoke up again “Urm Naegi, I was wondering if you would help me with something”

“Yeah, sure I can Maizono. What do you need help with?”

She got up and went around the table to pull on my arm “C’mon I’ll tell you as we walk”

I looked over to Kirigiri, she merely nodded before looking away. I got up and walked over to the cafeteria exit, but not before peering over my shoulder and giving the detective a small wave which she then imitated.

I followed Maizono’s brisk pace out of the dorm area to the main part of the first floor. ”So what did you want me to help you with?” I quizzed.

“W-well considering what’s happening, I thought it would be smart to get some sort of defense” she said while walking into the trophy room.

“I-I really don’t think it will be necessary Maizono…”

“How can you be sure? Better safe than sorry right?” She questioned while reaching for the gold-leaf covered sword in the trophy cabinet.

I grabbed her out-stretched hand, inhibiting her actions. “Maizono, I wouldn’t touch that. The gold-leaf will come off on your hands” I informed with a point towards the sword “You won’t need that, I promise on my life”

The feeling of confliction was evident on her face, she wanted to put faith in my words but she couldn’t. “How can you say that without knowing?” she argued.

 I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently. “Maizono, I’m going to make sure that everyone gets out of here alive. Please trust me” I proclaimed. “ _Yeah, make false promises like you did the last time_ ” I thought self-deprecatingly. “ _Except this time they won’t be false. I will get everyone out of here_ ”

Maizono was blushing slightly and gave a small nod of acknowledgement. “Do you really mean it Naegi? Will you protect me?”

“Yeah, of course I will” my voice taking a determined tone.

The pop sensations regular,stunning, smile re-materialized on her features. “Thank you Naegi, I trust you” She threw her hands around my back and gave a quick squeeze before breaking off. “In return, I’ll be your ultimate assistant” She added with a girlish giggle before pulling me forcefully to the exit.

“ _She sure is making a habit of pulling me everywhere_ ” I then outwardly sighed while letting myself get dragged.

After spending lunch with the pop idol sensation, I scavenged around the first floor looking for Monokuma coins. It almost felt like cheating considering I already knew where all of them were but they may come in handy sometime soon.

Later that evening, I was in the first floor toilets just going about my business when Togami strode in.

“Hey Togami” I put a hand out to greet him. “I’ve spoken to Kirigiri and she remembers”

The heir nodded “Yes I know, I spoke to her earlier. As you know, tomorrow is the day when the first motive comes out”He said with his habitual eloquent tone.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that… Couldn’t we just destroy the motives? It’s not like it’s against the rules” I moved to the basin to wash my hands.

The Affluent progeny mulled over my words for a couple of moments before replying. “That may be so but I would not want to risk it unless we have too. Remember, we cannot afford to be complacent”

“So… any ideas?” I wondered while drying my hands with a paper towel.

“Well the obvious course of action is to stop Maizono from attempting to murder Kuwata” He spoke incisively. “I trust you can handle this. You must not, at any costs, let Maizono swap rooms with you”

“O-okay I won’t” I stammered out.

“Make sure you do” He turned away towards the exit “Oh Yes and Naegi”

“Huh?”

“Don’t die” He remarked with innate bluntness. “If you die then I’m left with three; inept, annoying, ingrates and the detective”

“Aww your my friend too Togami” My words practically dripping with sarcasm.

The heir abruptly left the toilets while muttering “We are not friends” in a harsh voice.

I chuckled happily before following Togami out of the room “ _We are so friends_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter time folks I put this out now because in the next couple of days i'm getting results from school back so after getting those i probably will want to crawl into a nice shaded hole for a couple days and vegetate. Anyhow hope you enjoyed! Please leave some feedback, it'll be appreciated


	5. Chapter 5

                                                                                                         DING DONG DING DONG

Monokuma voice crackled over the speakers, urging me out of bed. Shaking my head to rid the blurriness in my eyes, I went about my usual morning routine. Today is the bigday. The first horrible motive comes out today and, if I’m not careful, the first murder will quickly follow it.

                                                                                                                  DING DONG

The mechanical chiming of the doorbell filled the room as I walked out of the bathroom with a towel covering my otherwise bare body. I swiftly put on my boxers and jeans before throwing my T-shirt on.

“ _Who could that be? Maizono? Kirigiri_?”

                                                                                                                   DING DONG

“Yeah, yeah I’m coming” I voiced.

I opened the door to be confronted by a pair of massive, furrowed eyebrows. “Naegi! Making someone wait for you while you dilly-dally is just plain rude!” Ishimaru pushed past me to get into my room, not caring about my consent.

“Eh? Oh hi Ishimaru, sorry I was getting dressed”

“Please act with more urgency in the future” He ordered “Anyways, I believe that we all should be working more as a unit rather than fifteen individuals. So, I am suggesting that we all eat our breakfast together in the hope that we will learn to trust one-another. The meetings will start immediately and will carry on until we leave this damned place” The way he phrased it made it sound like I had a choice but I probably don't.

“Seems like a great idea Ishimaru” I said with a smile.“I’ll meet you there in a couple of minutes, okay?”

“Your enthusiasm is noted, I will see you in due time” He bellowed happily as he walked out the door.

Thoroughly awakened by Taka’s booming, I dashed out of the door while throwing my hoodie over my shoulders.

 

I sipped quietly on a cup of coffee as people gradually trickled into the food hall, the last being Leon who tiredly staggered into the room like a reanimated corpse. I was never a big fan of coffee but I thought the caffeine would be useful for the trails to come. That, or I’m spending way too much time with Kirigiri.

“Okay! Everyone is here! We shall now commence the first breakfast meeting” Taka’s authoritative voice swiftly hushed the chatting voices of the other students.”Everyone, thank you for gathering here!”

“I didnt wanna, but you wouldn’t leave me alone” Leon groaned with his face planted on the table.

Taka theatrically put his hand out to silence the protesting All-star. “Team-work is critical to our survival. With that in mind, we will establish this daily breakfast gathering that will help us trust each other! From now on, please could you gather here first thing in the morning?”With no sign of resistance except a couple of groans Taka continued “Outstanding! Let breakfast begin!”

“Hey, by any chance, did anyone make any new discoveries since we last talked?” Mukuro’s voice broke the silence that ensued after Taka finished. Nobody said a word which led to Mukuro pushing on with her questions “Seriously? Nothing!?”

I opened my mouth to say something but I was beaten to the punch by Celes. “You are going to die…”

Her words stunned the soldier in disguise. “Huh?”

“You’re showing weakness in front of everyone… that’s why you’re going to die” Celes’ voice was polite in tone ,as it usually was, but with an menacing edge to it.

“H...hey, what are you saying!?” Mukuro spoke through gritted teeth.

Celes’ fingers coalesced elegantly as she giggled sweetly. “I think I mentioned this before, adaptability is survivability”

“Are you crazy!? Are you saying that we should get used to living here!?”

Deciding I needed to put an end to this, I spoke up. “Guys, please can we stop. Getting mad at each other isn’t going to accomplish anything. We are all on the same side”

“Yeah! Naegi’s right! We should be fighting together against Monokuma. That way we can escape!”Said Hina with an encouraging nod.

A couple nods of agreement were made by some of the students, but before we could get comfortable a gratingly shrill voice emanated from the head of the long table. “Escape? No, no, no, no! We can’t be having talk of that kind. You guys need to realise that you are stuck in here ‘til you off one of your pals. There is no way in hell you’re getting out of here in any other fashion” Monokuma said while desperately trying to climb onto the table from the chair.

Ishimaru stood up and pointed a finger at the animatronic “It doesn’t matter what you say, we will not murder anyone”

“Upupupu… speaking of murder…” Monokuma climbed up onto the table. “Watching you guys get all buddy-buddy is making me nauseous! The boredom is almost unBEARable!” Monokuma waited for people to laugh at his awful pun with outstretched arms. No one did. Slightly dismayed, the bear carried on “So there I was, thinking about why a murder hasn’t happened yet, and it struck me like a lightning bolt! We have the cast, the situation and the location but we are lacking a motive. Something to really get the blood flowing!”

Oowada slammed his hand on the table angrily “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Unperturbed by the ball of rage that is Oowada, Monokuma climbed down from the table and then walked towards the door before turning back to face us. “You guys should check out the AV room… got a nice little video to show you guys. You kids have fun!" The plushie then disappeared behind the door with his usual demonic laugh echoing through the halls. Myself, Togami and Kirigiri all stood up and left for the AV room. The rest of the group followed by our example like sheep following their Shepard’s.

 

I sat down at one of the booths towards the back of the AV room with a CD with my name crudely scribbled onto it. After pushing the CD into the slot, my family appeared unto the screen. The words of encouragement filled my ears as I watched them smile and wave cheerfully. “ _I wonder if I did make them proud while I was at hopes peak, before the mutual killing_ ” My childhood was as normal as it could get. I was just a normal suburban kid living a normal suburban life and then I get invited to attend the most prestigious school in japan, maybe even the world. I couldn’t help but ponder how I did here. “ _Was I popular? What grades did I get? Was I in a relationship_?” All these questions and more echoed in my head.

I was snapped out of my reverie when I noticed Maizono, who was evidentially shaken with what she saw. She was trembling and shivering a ton as she stared the screen down. I gently put my right hand on her knee and pushed her chair around so she would face me. “Maizono, everything is going to be fine. I promise, okay? As long as we stay calm and stick together we can get out of here, alright?”

Maizono glanced up at me with tears filling the corner of her eyes. She inched her chair a little bit closer and threw her hands around my back. “Why... is it all happening? Why us?” she sobbed while digging her head into my chest.

I gently wrapped my arms the pop sensation I spoke with a calm voice. “Maizono, everyone needs to work together. That’s the only way we will get out of here. Do you trust me?”

She displaced her head from my chest to look up at me. “I trust you Naegi”

“I want you to promise me that you won’t do anything reckless” My voice was a soothing lullaby.

She rubbed away a couple of tears before nodding and breaking off the embrace. “I promise”

I curled my palm around hers and gave it a slight squeeze. She, on the other hand, held onto it with a vice-like grip. “It’ll all be okay” I assured her.

After a couple of minutes of silence, people started trickling out of the room. Maizono was still frozen to her seat with her hand coiled around my now limp wrist. She apparently had no desire to get up for the time being, so we just sat with each other in an awkward silence. Five minutes turned to ten, ten minutes turned to twenty and in what felt like an eternity, thirty minutes had passed. I guess I could consider myself as a patient guy but this was stretching my limits, however, Maizono needs me right now so I can’t just leave.

“Are you okay?” I probed while gently tracing my thumb on the back of her palm.

She nodded solemnly and sniffed. “Okay, that’s good. You really should get some rest”

“Y-Yeah. Thank you Naegi… for everything”

I laughed slightly before grinning warmly “There is really no need to thank me,I’m just trying to do the right thing”

From there, I walked Maizono to her room before retiring to my own. It wasn’t all that near curfew yet but I felt sapped of all energy so I threw my blazer and hoodie on the end of the bed, slipped out of my shoes and crashed into bed.

                                                                                                          DING DONG

The doorbell awoke me from me peaceful slumber. “ _Who the hell could that be_?”

I tiredly rolled out of bed and staggered over to the door. I swung the door open and sleepily groaned a “What?”

Two hands grabbed me by my shirt collar, balling the fabric into their hands and started pushing me backwards and then into the bathroom. Kirigiri slammed the bathroom door behind her and securely locked it.

“You don’t have to be so forceful” I moaned sleepily.

“Naegi, we have a problem. Asahina just notified me that Maizono has taken a knife from the kitchen”

I shoke my head dismissively. “That can’t be. When I was talking to her earlier she seemed to trust what I said. I really think I convinced her”

She folded her arms over her chest “Well apparently she wasn’t as she is going through with the plan to frame you”

I couldn’t stop a grimace from manifesting on my features. “ _Does Maizono really not trust me to get her out_?”

“Naegi, you must not swap rooms with Maizono” She said with her usual neutral tone.

“I know” I muttered while running a set of fingers through my hair.

“I’m going to be around the corner watching Leon’s room and make sure he doesn’t leave”

“Yeah, make sure he dosent get the note” My body felt unresponsive as I struggled out of the room and buried my face into the pillow.

"We'll talk soon" she whispered before leaving the room.

I laid back, propping my head up with the pillow and staring up at the ceiling, readying myself mentally for the idols imminent arrival.

                                                                                                             DING DONG 

I opened the door to be met with a terrified looking Maizono. Her face was wraith-like with its paleness and her beautiful blue eyes had a harrowing vacancy to them. “I’m sorry, bothering you at this time... It’s just that, a little while ago I was laying down in my room and I think someone was trying to force their way through” Her voice trembled but I knew better than to trust her words.

“M-Maybe you’re just being paranoid Maizono?” I suggested weakly.

“No! I’m sure someone was trying to get in… I was so scared” Her voice grew more pleading and desperate.

“It’s locked, right? So no one can get in. Anyways, we are not allowed out during night time”

“But... that was just a spoken promise between us, right? What if someone breaks it?”

“I-I really don’t think someone will…”

“I’m still worried… Do you think we can swap room's…? Just for tonight?”

“ _Remember, you’re doing this for her sake_ ”

I took a deep breath. “I really don’t think it will be necessary Maizono”

“Bu-but please Naegi… I’m really scared…”

_ "I have  _ _to put my foot down_ ”

“Maizono, I really don’t see the point. Maybe you should go back to your room” I hated the words that left out of my mouth.

Maizono looked shocked at my dismissal, her jaw dropped open and eyes bulged slightly. Her face then contorted into desperate anger. “I thought you said that you would protect me! You promised!” A singular tear rolled down her cheek.

“M-Maizono, ple-“

“You lied to me” She screamed while point a finger at me “You said you would make sure I’d get out of here and protect me”

“ _Maizono… I am protecting you. Just from yourself_ ” I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs at her.

She spun around to the door, an angry sob filling the room. I went the follow her, however, I was stopped by the door which was slammed in my face. I gently smacked my head on the door before letting a sigh leave my lips. “ _That could have gone better… I’ll give her a couple of minutes to calm down a tad and then I’ll go comfort her. I can’t just leave things here, she is still a potential danger_ ”

After a couple minutes ticked by, I ventured out pf my room. I looked around the hallway and noticed something odd. “ _Huh? The laundry room light is on…_ ”

That’s when I noticed a flash of blue streak from the darkness into the light of the laundry room. Something silvery glinting menacingly in the artificial light.

“Maizono…?” I called out while inching forward. The presence seemed untroubled by my words as they sneaked through the open doors of the laundry room. I broke into a sprint and chased after the assailant. “Stop!” I  shouted while busting through the double doors.

In the laundry room, Hagakure was quickly scrambling back from the figure in the centre of the room. She was facing away from me, twitches ran through her body as she stalked towards the shaman. “Maizono, please! Don’t!” I screamed while charging over to her.

She deftly spun around to face me when I was mere inches away from grabbing the knife away from her. I was stopped dead by an icy sensation that coursed through my body, originating from my lower shoulder. It was as if winter had infiltrated my body and blew gusts of chilling winds throughout my anatomy. I looked down to see the kitchen knife sticking out of me with blood oozing onto my shirt. The surprising thing was that it wasn’t painful whatsoever. Just cold. I looked back up to see the idol with tears staining her face and a pair of feral blue eyes gawking at my own. Carmine blood adorned the shiny silver blade as it hit the floor with a deafening clang. The freezing feeling had now subsided but only to be replaced with a dull throbbing and unbearable heat. I staggered backwards while murmuring incoherently to only be tripped up on something. I fell backwards in what felt like slow motion, pawing at the air pointlessly for something to hold onto and then my world went dark as I thwacked my head on something hard. The last thing that registered in my head before the wave of unconsciousness swept me away was a piercing scream.


	6. Chapter 6

I could feel my whole body aching as I drearily lifted my heavy eyelids. It took a couple of seconds for my eyes to readjust to the blinding brightness caused by the lamp on the desk table. A dull, incessant, pounding originated from my right shoulder. Agonizing pain shot through my body as I struggled to sit up in bed.

“How are you doin’ little man?”

Hiro was sitting on a chair, brought from the cafeteria, and leaning up against my bathroom door. He looked pretty concerned, which was unnatural for the usually laid-back shaman.

“Wh-what happened? Where’s Maizono?” I stuttered out.

“She’s been keeping herself locked in her room ever since she nearly killed you. She kinda had a small meltdown about it”

“I need to go see her…”

I tried to stumble onto my feet but I was stopped by Hagakure placing a hand on the unaffected side of my bare chest. “Dude, I don’t think you’re in any state to get up right now. With the whole ‘nearly dying’ thing”

“So what happened… after…” I looked down at the jagged scar on my chest. There were little strands of some sort of the material poking out of the wound. Someone had apparently stitched it up while I was knocked out cold.

“Well after you got shanked, I ran out of the laundry room to find help while Maizono was going catatonic” The shaman reclined back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other “I found Kirigiri out in the halls and she went about helping you out while I gathered more people. While a shoulder wound isn’t really dangerous, bleeding out is. We had to use your blazer to make bandages to stop the bleeding and then we stitched you up”

“How? I thought the nurse’s office was closed” I asked

“Yeah, well y’know how the girls have sewing kit’s?”

I nodded quietly.

“And, y’know how there is dental floss in the bathrooms?”

Putting two and two together “Ah…Well how long have I been out?”

“Urrrm about a day. Give or take.” Upon seeing my sullen expression, Hiro cheerfully smiled and patted my knee. “Well look at the bright side dude! Now you got a badass scar, guaranteed to get women!” Hiro beamed with a thumbs up.

“And did Kirigiri say anything…?” I dared to ask.

“Nah, but she seemed monumentally pissed off afterwards” He rubbed the back of his awkwardly “She told me to watch over you a couple of hours ago before she went to bed”

“Oh…” I meekly tilted my head down to look at my ugly scar. I slipped my hoodie over my shoulders and zipped it up, not bothering with a shirt under it. “Hiro… I really think I should go see Maizono as soon as possible… right away if possible” Hiro looked unconvinced as he pondered the thought. “I’ll rest after, okay?”

He considered my proposal for a couple of seconds before shrugging “Fine, as long as we don’t tell Kirigiri… She honestly scares me man…”

I slowly slipped out of bed, cautious of my injury, and let Hiro support me to the door. He continued to support me until we were outside Maizono’s dorm. “Thanks Hiro, I’ll take it from here”

“Okay dude… I’m gonna go catch some Z’s… good luck” Hiro waved his goodbye’s as he walked off down the hall. I turned my attention back to the matter in-hand and pushed the doorbell.

“Please answer the door Maizono…” I whispered silently.

After ten seconds passed by, the door creaked open. Maizono peered out of the small slit of the door that she opened for herself. She was a deathly pale and her eyes had that same disturbing, glazed-over, vacancy to them. She opened the door fully and wiped away some wetness from her eyes. “N-Naegi?”

“Hey Maizono…May I come in?”

Without uttering a word, she backed away from the door and walked over to her bed. I awkwardly perched myself on the side of the bed next to her, racking my brains for something to say without much luck.

“I’m sorry…” Her voice broke the oppressive silence.

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry… You did nothing but support me and I still betrayed you…” Her voice reeked with regret.

“M-Maizono…it’s okay…”

“It’s not though is it…? B-Because of my own selfishness, I nearly killed you…” She choked back a sob. “Words can’t describe how awful I feel…”

“Maizono…I understand why you did what you did…Your friends and career are really important to you…But you should’ve trusted me” She looked down ashamedly, her fingers playing with the edges of her skirt. “…I forgive you”

“Huh…?” She lifted her gaze to meet mine, a look of genuine surprise on her features. “How can you…?”

“Look, Maizono, I believe that everything happening in this academy is solely the mastermind’s fault… I also believe that, because of the circumstances, that you weren’t in the right frame of mind…So I forgive you”

“How can you even bring yourself to talk to me…? Let alone forgive me?”

“Because, I think that you’re just a good person that was manipulated by a horrible one…”

“ _I genuinely believe that she is a good person and I also think that if this motive never came out, she would never have murdered anyone. Nevertheless, being betrayed twice… hurts_ ”

She wrapped her arms around my back, just below my ribcage, and grappled me tightly. The pain in my shoulder escalated to an uncomfortable amount yet, I stopped the groan of pain from escaping so she wouldn’t feel even guiltier then she already is.I felt my face heat up a little as I returned the sentiment, closing tired arms around her. “I don’t understand how you can bring yourself to forgive me but… Thank you…Makoto” Her voice was less solemn but still repentant as she murmured into my shoulder.

“Please… Can you trust me to get you out of here?...From here on out, I want you to trust me to get you out safely”

She broke off embrace and gave a sullen nod. "I trust you"

“Okay…I believe you…” I gradually stood back up, worrying over my injury. “I’m going to get some rest now… We’ll speak soon”

She nodded quietly with a, minute, sad smile. “Okay…”

I reciprocated the smile and left the room and returned to my own. I clambered into bed once I made sure that the door was locked. Complying with my tired body, I lethargically rolled onto my good side and closed my weary eyes. While laying lifeless on the bed, my thoughts turned to a certain purple haired girl. “ _I seem to be thinking about her more and more recently, she is constantly on my mind in some way or another. Even though I know she is going to be angry with me and give me a lecture, I’m oddly looking forward to seeing her… Huh… Anyways, maybe laying low for a couple hours in my room and letting her calm down will avoid getting chemically castrated_ ” And with those thoughts, I let myself drift off into dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEW CHAPTER BOI'S and/or GIRLS.  
> So guys i just wanted to give you a quick heads up about something real quick. I have now officially started sixth form *whoop* which means im gonna have less time for writing and i gotta devote more time to school work... so in short, the time between uploads will probably increase a bit. Also, im not as enthusiastic with this story as i once was and kinda wanna start a new one. Will this mean the end of this one? Nope but Im thinking of writing a pilot for something new in the near future.  
> One good point tho is that i may get time to get another chapter out by the end of the week. i doubt it but its a possibility  
> So please comment, it makes my day :D also leave a comment of what you would like to see from me like Pre despair? any requested ships? allllll that jazz  
> anyways im gonna go now cos i need lunch  
> Ta-Ra


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own danganronpa nor do I Own tha characters

Hot water trickled over my body as I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. The pain in my shoulder had decreased overnight, it still had a painful twinge to it when I moved my arm too much but it lacked the same vicious bite and intense throbbing. Despite this, the jagged wound still looked just as inflamed and angry. After drying myself from my morning shower, I got myself dressed and ready to tackle the new day.

I swung open the door and saw Togami exiting his own room from the other side of the hall.

"Good morning, Togami" I said with a raised arm.

Togami turned around to face me after locking his door. "Good morning" He huffed sleepily before starting his journey to the cafeteria.

I quickly followed him down the hall. "How did you sleep?"

"Adequately. Yourself?" He replied while pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Alright, I guess" I replied while trying to keep up with his long strides.

"You guess?" He echoed before sighing. "Anyways, how is it?" He asked while waving a finger at my torso.

"The pain isn’t constant anymore, but it’s still a bit tender" I replied while stretching out my arms, testing the wound.

"What you did was really foolish, you know that right?" He drawled derisively. I couldn’t do anything but nod weakly. "I won’t bother telling you how much of a moron you are... I’ll leave that to her" He continued while pushing the cafeteria door’s open.

In the cafeteria, the rest of my classmates were sitting around the long rectangular table towards the back of the room. The first thing I noticed when we entered the room was the lack of an idol. Some of the students craned their neck to watch us as we made our way to our seats.

“Naegi…” Mumbled Aoi, whom was sitting closest the door.

“Hey guys…” I said quietly while taking my seat at the closest space, which happened to be between Oowada and Sakura. As I sat down, my eyes met with a pair of lilac one’s. She immediately looked away when we meet each other’s gaze. I wanted to say something but I decided against it and just slumped myself back in the chair.

“How are you feeling? We were very worried about you” Inquired Ishimaru, at the head of the long table.

“Better…” I said while reclining back into the metal chair. “Has anyone seen Maizono…?”

“I’ve been getting her food, but she’s barely stepped out of her room” Hina shifted awkwardly in her seat. “To be honest, I’m really worried about her. She seems so… distant”

“To be expected considering what happened over the best few days” Said Togami.

“Speaking of Maizono, what shall we do with her?” Celes interjected.

“What do you mean by that?” I questioned with my voice squeaking slightly, much to my own dismay.

“Maizono is still a potential threat to all of us, even you Naegi. She has tried once and what’s to stop her from trying again?” I could feel the atmosphere in the room drop to below freezing as she said those words.

I flinched slightly but regained my composure as quickly as I could and spoke with a calm tone to match her own; “What are you suggesting Celes?”

“She obviously cannot be trusted so we should put her under supervision, within reason of course” She said “Limit her privileges and keep her under watch”

“Do you really think that excommunicating her from the group will help?” Togami asked with right eyebrow cocked.

“We need to be there for her! Treating her like that will just worsen things” I attached.

“Possibly, but we also need to consider the fact that she may lie to us” She argued with her talon twirling around her presumably fake hair.

“Shit, maybe the chick’s got a point…” Muttered Oowada.

“Ya, she’s messed up dude…” Added Leon “I think we should listen to the Goth”

“I-I really don’t think that will be necessary Celes” Ishimaru stuttered out.

“Maybe not, but letting our guard down could prove to be a lethal mistake” She answered. “I don’t want anything to happen, but I just have our best interests in mind”

“We won’t have to do that, because she won’t do anything! She knows what she has done wrong and it’s made her realize that murdering a friend is not right way to get out of here” I countered, voice raised to a shout 

“What happened really shook her up, I really don’t think she will try anything now” Aoi said.

“Although I don’t believe Maizono can be fully trusted just yet, I don’t think that treating her like a criminal will do any good whatsoever” Togami agreed, albeit with a tone that would imply that he wasn’t partially thrilled with concurring.

There were more whisperes of agreement from at least half of the students which was enough for me.

“Well, looks like it’s decided! Maizono shall not be punished for her crime.” Boomed Ishimaru.

“Guys, please don’t treat Maizono like a villain. She just had her judgement clouded by that bear” I tacked on. “Even if you don’t agree with not punishing her”

“It is a group vote so I will acknowledge what the majority have voted for even if it goes against my own wishes. I just thought that it would be pertinent to discuss the aftermath of what happened the overnight as quickly as possible” Celes replied with her devilish smile that I have grown rather accustomed too.

With that settled, we went about fixing up breakfast for ourselves. While in the kitchen, I approached Kirigiri who seemed to be waiting for something at the toaster. I opened my mouth to speak but I was interrupted by a voice crackle over the speakers; “So my personalized snuff films may not have set a fire under your asses but don’t you worry my students…Your delightfully deadly headmaster has concocted another little gift to give you a little nudge in the right the direction” The bear said cheekily. “After you see what I’ve got, your gonna want blood more than ever. Any-who, have a nice breakfast my rag-tag bunch of misfits”

She sighed as she continued to sort her meal.

“Hey… Kirigiri…” I greeted awkwardly.

She seemed to pay me no attention as the toast popped out and she got her plate and readied herself to leave, but as she pushed past me she whispered; “My room, after breakfast” And with that, she left the kitchen.

I could do nothing but keep quiet as I walked back into the room to sit down to eat. During breakfast I listened half-heartedly to Hagakure prattle on about his adventures as a nomadic clairvoyant. My attention was divided between him and watching Kirigiri, waiting for her to leave.

It only took a couple of minutes of waiting before I heard the clacking of boots along the floor head toward the door. I set off in pursuit with a brisk walk to catch up with her. I reconvened with her at the door to her room.

“So… did you want to talk to me?” I asked quietly.

Without a word she opened the door, let me in, then closed it behind me and locked it.“Bathroom, now” she directed with the tiniest of shoves.

Acquiescing to her demand once more, I walked into the bathroom with her in tow.

“What did you want?” I asked while she closed the bathroom door.

“Considering that the second motive has been teased, I thought it would be diligent of us too formulate a plan” She still avoided my gaze as she spoke.

“I-Is that all you wanted to talk about?” I asked.

“Yes, for now at least” She swept a wayward lock of hair away from her eyesight as she scrutinized anything in the room but myself. “I’ve been contemplating something for a while now”

“Huh? What?”

“Just because we have been through the motives once…it doesn’t necessarily mean that the motives will come in an exact order, or if there are new motives that we haven’t come across that we have no idea how to combat” A gloved hand cupped her chin in thought.

“Yeah, I suppose that’s true we did get out earlier then Junko planned. She probably has more tricks up her sleeve” I sighed tiredly at the thought.

“We just have to stay vigilant. Expect the unexpected. If the second motive is actually the secrets, we should put certain people under observation” She said while staring at the floor, getting caught up her in her thoughts.

“Like who?” I leaned up against the radiator and rested my head against the wall.

“Well, Oowada for a start, Maizono and Leon too as we don’t know how they will react”

“I really don’t think Maizo- “

“I know you don’t want to think about it but you need to be realistic here Naegi” She interrupted.

I opened my mouth to argue but promptly snapped it shut, realizing she was probably right.

“And if it isn’t the secrets?” I questioned.

“We cross that bridge when we come to it” She replied simply.

She turned to the door but I stopped her by grabbing her forearm.

“I know you’re angry with me… What I did was stupid, I know… And I’m really sorry” I dropped my head in shame.

She let out a breathy sigh.

“You are an idiot…But a brave one at that…” She spoke softly.

My head snapped up to look at her. For the first time that morning, she held my gaze. Her eyes weren’t glaring at me like I first expected but in fact they held something completely different. Guilt. Purples spheres whirling with dismay.

“So you’re not mad with me?”

“No, I am. I had one request, don’t get yourself hurt” Her voice took a slightly displeased tone, akin to teacher scorning a student.” And what was the first thing you did? Throw yourself on the first knife you see like you think your some action hero”

“I know. It’s all my fault, I should’ve been more careful” I muttered “I never meant to get myself hurt”

“I know you didn’t” She said with a small frown. “Besides, don’t hold yourself solely responsible, most of the responsibility obviously goes to Maizono… Also…” She was the one to drop her head this time. “I should have never left you alone to check the hallways… If I was there it wouldn’t have happened” Her voice reeked with regret as she transfixed her gaze with the floor.

Only just realizing that I was still holding her tightly by the forearm, I dropped my hand to grab her by the palm.

“But you did nothing wrong!” I argued.

“It’s hard not to feel guilty even if I didn’t do anything particularly wrong. I feel guilty for not being there.”

I could somewhat understand what she meant. If the roles were reversed I would feel awful for not being there to save her, a lot like how I felt responsible for not being to save Maizono the first time around.

“Naegi… When I found you on the floor with all that bloo-” Her hand clenched on my own tighter.

“Don’t…” I murmured.

“I felt the same way when you nearly got…” She trailed off.

“Executed?” I infer.

She gave a tiny, somber nod.

“I should’ve staye- “She started.

“Kirigiri. No” I took a step closer so there was only a miniscule distance between us. She scrutinized me with the same curiosity I’ve come to know and adore.

“You don’t have to coddle me. I’m responsible for my own actions and I’m not a kid, so don’t treat me like one” I voiced confidently.

Her lavender lips turned from a maudlin frown into a small but beautiful smile.

“Alright then, if that’s what you want”

“I’m so sorry that I made you feel that way… Again” I said dejectedly. “Do you forgive me?” I asked, confidence sapped from my voice and replaced with nervousness.

“I do, am I forgiven?” Leathered fingers sliding and locking into place with my own.

“Of course” I said quietly, tightening my grip on her hand.

We stood there in absolute silence just staring at each other vacantly. It was only now that I started to grow conscious of our close proximity. I inspected every facet of the girl that stood before me, scrutinizing every detail of her. She seemed to be doing something similar, amethyst irises darting across my features.

Part of me was screaming to do the obvious thing given the situation, all the while another part was terrified of rejection. She still held my gaze but her attention appeared to be elsewhere.

 _“Didn’t I just say that I didn’t want to be treated like a kid_?” I asked myself “ _Maybe now is the time to prove it_ ”

With my action decided, I placed my free hand on her waist.

“ _No turning back now…_ ”

I’d like to say I gently kissed her, made her swoon into my arms in a state of pure ecstasy… I’d like to. In reality it was more like I crushed my own lips against hers as she was about to say something due to sheer nervousness.

She jumped back with panic written plain as day across her face.

“O-Oh my god, I am so sorry. I t-thought that you were thinking the same way, I thought that it would be okay. I am so sor- “I apologized while clumsily bowing.

“I-It's fine, you just surprised me that’s all” She stuttered out while looking over to the side.

I craned my neck to sneak a peek at her face. She was blushing a lot, pink blooming across her cheeks.

“I s-suppose it’s no mystery now that I like you… I… uh… mean really like” I whispered, fumbling my words.“Now I understand that you probably don’t feel the same way but please let me say this”

She turned back to me, the pink still prominent on her cheeks, and gave me consent to speak my mind with a short, sharp nod.

“I honestly think your amazing, you have always helped me when I needed and for that I’m so appreciative. Also, you’re by far the smartest person here and one of the most compassionate even though you try to guard your emotions. Lastly, I’d be lying if I said you weren’t incredibly pretty. I know you probably won’t feel the same, but that’s okay. Just being your friend is enough for me”

An awkward silence set in when I finished my piece. I refused to look at her, too nervous to see her reaction.

“Thank you Naegi… You really don’t think that highly of yourself do you?” She whispered.

“W-what?” I sputtered.

“You immediately doubt the idea of me liking you back… Even though I haven’t said anything to prove or even hint at that”

“Pardon?”

“It’s only normal for people to grow attached to one another when they go through life threatening events together, right?” she asked, seemingly rhetorically. “Besides, out of everyone here, you’re the only one that honestly trusted me with everything, even though sometimes I can be difficult to trust. Furthermore, you are possibly one of the kindest and bravest people I’ve ever met. You may not believe me, disregard it by saying that you act no differently than any other person would in your position, but your modesty that just makes your actions more compelling…”

“So…” I said awkwardly

“So…” She rocked on her heels, blush only just starting to fade away.

“Was that yes to liking me back?” I rubbed the back of my neck, embarrassed.

“Maybe…” She pushed intruding hair out the way of her eyesight with a sweep of a hand. “Regardless of how I feel, do you really think that starting a relationship would be a good idea? Considering the situation?”

“Well your right it’s not exactly ideal circumstances, but if the world is as Junko says then it won’t be any different, possibly worse”

She paused, Weighing up my counter-argument.

 

“You’re right...The world we live in nowadays is so twisted and we cant avoid that. But don’t you dare make me fall in love with you and then die on me, because if you do- “

“You’ll kill me?” I interrupted. “Besides, it won’t come to that”

“Better not” She said in a hushed tone.

“What now?”

“We wait for tonight, see what the motive is, then we quickly devise a plan and carry it out, and hopefully we will still have 15 students alive by morning”

“Gotcha” I replied.

“Also… You could kiss me properly” She said, ears turning pink.

Not needing a second invitation, I closed the distance between us. I placed my hands on the small of her back, while she placed her hands on my shoulders, and gently pressed my lips against hers with my head slightly cocked to the side. One of her hands shifted to hold my jaw while the other fell slightly to caress my thundering chest, mine did not shift from her lower back but I did lean into her a little more. Her lips were like pillows; soft and warm. Just as I envisioned.

We parted lips, however, I didn’t relinquish my grasp of her and neither did she let go of me.

“Should we tell the others? Or keep it too ourselves?”

“Not just yet. That’s not to say that I’m embarrassed of you; quite the opposite. Just in case someone may see it as our weakness and try to exploit that”

“Yeah that’s cool” I said, finally letting go of her.

“You may want to talk to Mukuro soon, see if she lets anything slip about her sister’s plan. Possibly talk to Chihiro and Mondo too considering it would likely be the secrets motives next” She suggested. “Also, you should check over Maizono” She said the name with a tiny hint of displeasure. “ I would do it but your better with people than me”

“And what will you be doing?”

“Doing what I usually do; Investigating. Checking and re-checking” She sighed “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later” Seeing it as my queue to leave, I quickly planted a kiss on her cheek before heading for the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yo  
> ladies and gents, i have returned. I did say id be awhile nd work has been really tough recently but i managed to finish this for you lovely people  
> I kinda demonized celes in this chapter, sorry celes fans, I needed conflict and togami is trying to play nice guy  
> Did i make Kirigiri to emotional? not emotional enough? tell me what you think  
> Leave a kudos and comment if you enjoyed and ill see you guys next month ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Free time shit and stuff

After leaving Kirigiri’s room, I decided to head to the cafeteria. The announcement of the next motive will probably come tonight so I thought it would be a good idea to spend some time with someone other than Kirigiri or Togami. After all, there is such a thing as spending too much time with someone.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be no one in there so I whipped out my handbook and tried to find someone who was relatively close by. The closest person turned out to be Celes, who appeared to be in the laundry room. I didn’t really interact with Celes much during the first time around so maybe it would be smart, considering she was previously blackened, to get to know more about her.

I opened the door to the laundry room and peeked inside. The SHSL Gambler was sitting with her usual regal posture on one of the wooden benches.

“Hey there Celes” I greeted as I sat down on the opposite bench.

“Well if it isn’t my favourite D-rank” She said while waving elegantly. “What brings you to the laundry room? I would have thought that you would have wanted to avoid this room like the plague given what happened here”

“I wanted to talk to someone to pass the time, so here I am” I said, smiling at the Gambler.

"If that is the case, then I'm flattered you chose me" She smiled whle bowing slightly in her seat.

"I was actually wondering about something..." 

"Oh really? Do tell..." She responded as she rested her chin on laced fingers.

"How did you get so good at what you do?" 

I had always wondered because, at least in my own opinion, everyone's luck must run out sometime or another.

"A mix of natural aptidute and possessing the correct mindset, I suppose. That, and my undeniable good luck" 

"Are you really that lucky?" I inquired, quite impressed with her confidence.

"Its what I credit my success too. A good poker-face can only get you so far"

"That's pretty impressive..." 

“Would you mind if I asked you a small question?” Her talon creeped up from her lap to stroke her jaw.

“Uh… Sure?” I answered.

“Being the so called ‘Ultimate Luckster’” She used air quotes as she said the title. “How much would you say luck affects your life?”

I thought the question over for a moment before replying;

“To be honest, It doesn’t and I don’t really consider myself all that lucky”

“How so?” She wondered, interest seemingly piqued.

“Like… I have little phases of good luck and bad luck but neither really impact my life all that much, so they balance to a neutral. Getting accepted into this academy was the luckiest thing that has happened to me” I uttered a little bit meekly.

“However, considering the scenario that we are in, it’s more like awful luck”

“Yeah…Perhaps I should be called the Ultimate Unluckster” I agreed self-deprecatingly.

“Ah… How very disappointing…” She sighed while giving me the most dissatisfied look I’ve ever had the misfortune to bear witness too.

“Huh?!” The sound bubbled out of my mouth before I even realised.

“I was quite looking forward to pitting my own luck against your own. The Ultimate Gambler versus the Ultimate Luckster. It could make for quite the thrilling matchup”

“Well, I think you would win considering you’re the Ultimate Gambler” I conceded bashfully. “But, I’m more than happy to play if you would like”

“Another time perhaps, the motives will be out soon. If you do survive, it would be my pleasure to play you” Celes said as she got up and headed to one of the washing machines.

“I shall see you tonight, Naegi”

“Yeah, cya tonight!” I waved my goodbye as I headed out of the door, already thinking about who I should see next.

“ _Kirigiri did say that I should talk to Ikusaba…_ ”

With action decided, I turned on my electro-ID and searched for the solider in disguise. She was, according to the device, in the room with the Mono-Mono machine. After a short walk, I peeked my head through the door to locate the SHSL Soldier.

Mukuro Ikusaba was sitting on top of the stores counter, inspecting the suit of armour to her side.

“Hey?” I pushed the door open and waved at the freckled girl.

The girl jumped at my sudden appearance, nearly falling off of her perch. She quickly re-adopted her fake persona with a big, flashy, smirk and an excited wave.

“Hey there, Naegi!” She grinned.

It’s rather odd. I could see rather glaring differences between how Mukuro portrayed Junko and how she actually acted. For starters, the smile that I saw from the real Junko Enoshima was manic and twitching, meanwhile, Mukuro’s rendition looked quite obviously forced.

“W-What’re you up too?” I cautiously made my way towards the girl. “Just relaxing a little before tonight, y’know? How ‘bout you?“ She responded as she stroked her hair.

“Finding someone to help past the time I guess…” I sighed airily.

After I had finished speaking, the room feel into an uncomfortable silence.

“Soooo… Urmm…”

I rocked on my heels in an ungraceful manner, trying to find some way to probe her for information without her or her sister catching wind and not having much success. She wasn’t contributing either. She just sat there staring at me perhaps waiting for me to start conversation.

“W-What are your thoughts on Monokuma, or whoever’s controlling it” I asked, hoping for some kind of reaction.

“Whoever is controlling that messed up toy is, like, a complete psycho” She replied in her rendition of Junko’s voice. Well, the voice of her most ‘normal’ persona.

“Do you reckon it’s a person or an organisation?”

I took a step closer to the soldier, but not to close.

“Like, how the hell should I know?” she shrugged.

It was quite obvious that I was… getting absolutely fucking nowhere. One thing was clear, I needed to ask something slightly riskier. As Kirigiri would probably say ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’ and having to take risks is an inevitability.

I walked over to the perched soldier and popped myself up onto the counter but not close enough to make it awkward.

“Whoever is pulling the strings here…Forcing us all into a situation which we don’t want any part off…” I trailed off, waiting for a possible reaction. She looked at me from the side, for some reason desperately avoiding eye contact. “We just need to remember who the real enemy is… The person manipulating us innocents and not our friends. Right, Enoshima?”

I ventured cautiously. The solider turned away from me completely to stare vacantly at the floor.

“Yeah…” she said wistfully.

I immediately felt a pang of guilt run through me. I know I shouldn’t feel guilty considering what she’s done but I couldn’t shake the feeling that she is merely a pawn in Junko’s game like the rest of us. She’s doing what she’s doing because of her love for her family and, despite myself, I could feel that resonating me with in a way. Sure I wouldn’t go to this extent but it almost made her actions ever so slightly understandable. I don’t think I can forgive her but I’m willing to try my best too.

“I know I can trust you, Enoshima” I placed my hand on her shoulder, albeit very carefully, in an attempt to cheer the mood up a little. She jumped slightly before turning back to me, scarlet blossoming on freckled skin.

“Y-You trust me?” she echoed dumbfounded.

“Yeah, of course! I trust everyone here to not do anything drastic, so that we can escape together and no one has to die. I hope you trust me too” I grinned.

The blush had returned so she promptly shied away again.

“I-I trust y-you…”

“Thank you, Enoshima!” I said as I hopped down from the counter.

“Stop calling me that…” She murmured.

“Huh?”

“Call me Junko, Naegi. I’ve never liked my surname” She raised her head again to look at me eye-to eye.

“If that’s what you want, Junko…” I itched at my jaw awkwardly.

She nodded in a very military-esque manner. Though I doubt she will defect onto our side, I do believe that we’ve taken a step in the right direction and maybe taking baby steps would be the best way anyway.

“So, Junko, do you wanna go gra- “

“Alright people, get your arses down here. You best not dawdle or may accidently…I dont know...Rip you to fucking pieces” The whiney voice crackled over the speakers of the T.V screens.

"Nevermind then..." I muttured.

"Come on, we shouldnt keep him waiting" 

She made her way to the door and held it open for me.

"I have a really bad feeling about this..." I groaned as I walked past.

                                                              xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We, much to Ishimaru's annoyance, were the last ones to get the gym. I scanned the room, looking for certain people among the crowd. Maizono had segregated herself from the group, seemingly by choice, even though Hina was calling her over with a friendly and inviting wave.

Meanwhile, Togami was standing slightly closer to the main group but still kept is distance. Probably because he wasn’t exactly on great terms with anyone and he has only just started to warm up to me. Well, what I mean by warm up is that he doesn't berate me with insults every time we talk anymore.

Kirigiri on the other hand, was standing within the main group. She turned around at the noise of the door closing and her eyes met mine. She didn’t make any motions for me to come over but I could tell by the way she held my gaze. I started to walk over, but I turned back to encourage Ikusaba to come with. She looked hesitant for a moment, however she didn’t take too long to decide to follow. I stood next to the young detective and we exchanged small nods. I gave a small smile but her appearance did not change from that hyper-concentrated, alert, neutral expression that I was used to seeing in the times like these or in the class trials. After a couple of seconds, Monokuma appeared out of thin air.

“Hello there, my beautiful students” Monokuma started dancing and pirouetting around the stage in a happy manner.

“What d’you want you stuffed fuck?” Oowada growled menacingly.

The bear stopped prancing about the place and jumped down from the stage. “I’ve been watching you guys and all I can say is that you guys are sooooo booooooring” The bear moaned while pretending to fall asleep. “The only exciting thing that happened was watching the hobbit nearly get gutted like a fresh salmon by his old flame”

I cringed at his words and spun around to see the reaction of the pop idol. She looked to be on the verge of crying, obviously very upset by the whole situation.

“Such a shame that you didn’t have the metal to finish hi-“

“Shut up and get on with it!” I shouted at the bear.

“Hmph” Monokuma grunted. “How do you do it Naegi? How do you forgive the girl who manipulated you completely so she could _murder_ you in cold blood?”

This time, my words got trapped in my throat and the only rebuttal I made was a pitiful choking noise as I gritted my teeth angrily.

“Oy vey, can we get on with things?” Togami said, a picture of composure which was a polar opposite to myself.

“Fine, fine” The bear shrugged. “As I was saying, you guys are dead fucking boring. Seriously, no murders…No drama… No witty punch-lines”

“How’s this for a witty punchline; go fuck yourself you two-toned bastard!” Leon shouted at the plushie.

“Love the passion but your about as creative as Ikea furniture” The bear pointed a hand at the All-star with his thumb pointed down. “Like, seriously, I’m the enemy not some dude on the street. You need to get more hate behind your words”

“For the love of Christ, just get this over with already” Hiro grumbled uncharacteritisically moody for the usual happy-go-lucky Sharman

“I digress” The bear announced while whipping out a remote. “It’s time for your new motive”

He pressed a large red button on the remote while grinning gleefully. A moment later, blocks of cash started raining from the roof and they piled up surprisingly neatly on the stage.

“The route of all evil!” Monokuma cheered as he started throwing money from the pile at us.“Cash-cash money! Moolah! Cheese! Bread! Whatever you wanna call it, it’s all the same”

I could see the avarice in Celes’ ruby red eyes glint at the huge pile of currency.

“How do we know it’s not fake?” She pondered.

“Oh I assure you, it’s all real” The bear responded. “Anyhow, I look forward to seeing one of you guys getting your hands dirty because, let’s be honest, who could resist?”

With that said, Monokuma waved and then disappeared behind the lectern leaving us with scared, paranoid, stares and confusion.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why hello there my wondeful readers, how are you doing on this fine evening/afternoon/ morning/ etc.  
> Sorry this took so long, I wanted to get my new story on its feet first and then i got sick and I managed to fracture my wrist and football last week so i wasnt in the mood to write but im on the mend and Im back and im properly not better.
> 
> Anyways, Kudos, Comment, all that great stuff
> 
> Ta-Ra


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AYYYY

With the departure of the bear, people started filing out of the room as usual. I was going to follow them out but Kirigiri raised her hand and gave me a subtle gesture to wait. As I paused to let the crown filter out, I noticed Maizono shuffle quietly out of the gym with an almost phantom-like demeanour. A pang of guilt ran through me as I saw the idol leave, I feel like I should be helping or trying to comfort her in some way but now’s not the time at least.

“Follow me”

The detective walked passed and gave my arm a short but gentle pull. I followed in silence as we made it back to her dorm room. I already had an idea of where she was leading me. I know she would want to scheme in private, away from the eyes and ears of the mastermind. That meant there were only a few places we could realistically go. Soon enough, we were in the bathroom of her dorm for the second time that day. I clicked the lock behind us, even though it was doubtful that Monokuma would try to interrupt us but I thought it would be best to be safe rather than sorry.

“So what’s the game plan?” I asked as I leaned up against the wall next to her.

“Well there are a few things we should consider. Firstly, we don’t know if anyone else may be planning to betray a classmate to get to the money other than Celes. We also have no idea how the students who died before the third motive will react” Kirigiri crossed her arms and pointed her gaze to the floor in thought.

“We know that Ikusaba won’t kill anyone and I doubt the likes of Leon and Maizono need money”

“Agreed” Kirigiri nodded in agreement. “With this in mind, let’s work on the assumption that only Celes is plotting to murder”

“Do you have any ideas on how to stop her?”

Kirigiri’s lips curled into one of her trademark smirks.

“Maybe…Depends on if he co-operates”

“Huh? Who?” I cocked my head to the side in confusion.

“Our resident Heir” She answered simply.

“Togami? Why him?”

“We are going to make Celes an offer to rival Junko’s” The smirk still gracing her lips as she explained.

“So basically… We are going to get Togami to pay Celes for not killing anyone?”

The detective nodded quickly and curtly.

“Uh…I don’t really see Togami agreeing to that…” I murmured.

“Oh I reckon I can convince him”

With her confidence rubbing off on me, I tightened my fist into a ball and grinned.

“Let’s go get him then!”

Write a note too Togami to get him to meet us in the boy’s restroom in ten minutes and slip it under his door” Instructed Kirigiri.

“Uh-Yeah sure…”

After quickly writing up the note and discreetly slipping it under the door to Togami’s room, I made my way to the male restroom with Kirigiri in tow. Before entering, we made completely sure that the coast was clear to avoid any awkward conversations of why we were trying to sneak into the men’s toilets.

We waited in absolute silence for the heir to appear, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Kirigiri was concentrating on her own thoughts and I didn’t want to force conversation on her, besides we could just enjoy being in each other’s company. That being said, I’ve felt somewhat awkward in her presence ever since this morning. Am I supposed to be acting differently around her? Am I supposed to be more romantic? In truth, I honestly have no clue what I should be doing…

Before I could follow that train of thought any further, the door flung itself open and Togami strode in with Fukawa peering around him from behind.

“You wanted me?” Togami asked.

“Fukawa? What are you doing here?” I said in a confused manner.

“I found her staring at my door in the hallway like some kind of lost puppy looking for its owner” Togami sighed. “I decided to ignore her at first but like all lost puppies, she kept following me”

“W-What? Does m-my very presence disgust you or something?” Fukawa mumbled from behind an heir while pointing a finger towards me.

“N-No of course not” I backpedalled before laughing awkwardly.

“Anyways” Kirigiri asserted, demanding attention. “Naegi and I summoned you here so we could discuss how we are going to prevent a murder tonight”

“We?” The Heir eyed us suspiciously.

“Yes, we need you for my plan to work”

“And what plan is this?”

“You are going to offer Celes a deal that will sway her not to kill” Kirigiri explained simply.

“Why on earth would I do that?” Togami snorted derisively.

“Due to the situation outside, you would not have to actually follow through with this promise as money probably isn’t in use as we know it. Celes will see that we lied to stop her from making a huge mistake and forgive our deception” Kirigiri answered.

“I really don’t think Celes will be happy with that…” I murmured under my breath.

“I reiterate; why on earth would I do that?”

“Did you forget the vow you made after the second trial? You promised to defeat the mastermind and, in my opinion, the only way of achieving ultimate victory is by saving your peers as well as defeating Junko”

The detective finished her reply with a small smirk, knowing that she exploited one of the few downfalls of Togami. His pride. Togami, on the other hand, was grimacing at the detective with his brow heavily furrowed. After a couple seconds of deliberation, Togami answered;

“Very well then, I agree to helping. However, I already see a flaw in your plan”

“What flaw?” I said, keeping an eye on the door just in case.

“Celes wanted nothing more than to get out of this academy, how will we convince her to stay here”

“Money talks Togami, everyone has a price. You should know this more than anyone” Kirigiri quipped.

“Hmph… Fine… When will we confront her?”

“Tonight. After the 10pm curfew. That’s when I suspect her to make her move” Kirigiri announced.

“B-But what move? The scenario is different; s-he hasn’t got Alter Ego for starters…” Fukawa sputtered from behind her master’s back.

“The girl brings up a valid point” Togami agreed, much to the joy of his stalker who was currently panting way-too heavily.

“We have no way of knowing how she will go about things now. This means we will have to patrol the school and hope we find her before she does anything foolish” Kirigiri reasoned.

“Fine then. I suppose I’ll see you tonight then”

Togami spun and made his way out of the room, with Fukawa practically hanging off of his coat tail.

“That’s that then” Kirigiri said after letting a sigh pass her lips.

“Yeah…” I chuckled awkwardly. “What now?”

“I suppose we could go get something to eat, care to join me?”

“Yea- uh… wait… I forgot, I promised myself that I’d go see how Maizono was doing”

I bit my lip as I remembered the state of her when I saw her only a half an hour or so ago.

“Ah… I see”

Kirigiri headed for the exit but I quickly shot my hand out to stop her.

“Come with me” I suggested. “Maizono could use a couple of friends and I could use your help”

“O-okay, sure. I’d like that”

“Thank you Kyoko” I said with a grin that would not suppress itself.

“K-Kyoko?” The detective stammered as a tinge of pink bloomed across her cheeks.

It wasn’t long before I realised I was probably blushing just as much as I felt my face heat up. I said her name without even putting much thought into it, it almost felt natural.

“I-I thought it w-would be okay…C-Considering…”

“Yes, i-its fine. You just caught me off guard… You seem to be doing that a lot recently…”

She had reassembled her mask and regained her composure so quickly that she made it look easy. There was a prolonged pause before the detective finally turned and gave my sleeve a short pull.

“Let’s go…Makoto”

She said my name in a curious and experimental manner, as if it was completely alien to her.

When we exited the bathroom, we were confronted by the one person… Or thing… that I really didn’t want to see.

“So…What were you guys doing in there…? Huh…?” Monokuma questioned while sweating profusely.

“Uh-N-No nothing. We were doing nothing” I quickly denied in a state of panic.

The bear sauntered over to us and stood itself right in front of me.

“By any chance, were you…Thwarting my plans?!”

Monokuma had now extended his claws and started waving them at me in a threatening manner.

“T-Thwarting your plans?” I stammered out.

“Are you?!” The bear persisted while waggling his hand dangerously close to my crotch.                                                                                                                                

 “No! O-Of course not!”

“You better fucking not be…I’d have to hurt you real bad if you were”

The bear turned to the right slightly to stare at Kirigiri.

“What were you doing then?”

Kirigiri returned the bears gaze with a harsh coldness.

“You know what? I don’t care, whatever” The bear said as he swivelled to leave, but not before stopping as he was about to pass the detective. “Oh yeah, I know you are young and irresponsible but word of advice; be gentle with Naegi. He’s fragile little guy”

The bear nudged Kirigiri playfully with his elbow, much to the detective’s chagrin.

“Anyways, I’ll leave you guys to it. Have fun kiddos!”

He turned on his heels and set off down the hallway.

“Before we entered the academy, I would’ve said bears were my favourite animal…. Yeah, not anymore…” I muttered as we walked to Maizono’s door.

The detective merely hummed in agreement as we turned to corner to enter the dorm area. As we stood outside the Idol’s door, Kirigiri nodded to me a signal that she was ready. I offered a small smile, which she then reciprocated, before pressing my thumb to the doorbell. After a couple of seconds, Maizono poked her head round the door.

“Hey there Maizono!” I greeted with a smile “Me and Kirigiri were wondering if you wanted to go grab some food?”

“Kirigiri?” Maizono said confusedly, only just noticing the girl at my side.

“Hello Maizono” The detective said with a slight smile.

“H-Hey…”

The idol smiled back, albeit incredibly uneasily.

“So you coming?” I asked.

The idol looked unsure for a moment, silently debating whether to leave the security of her room or not.

“O-Okay then”

 

Fortunately, the cafeteria was completely empty. Possibly because most of our classmates would’ve eaten before the motive or just after. Myself and Kirigiri shepherded the idol towards the kitchen, one of us standing on either side of her. After deciding on making a simple curry, we set about grabbing ingredients and equipment. As I expected, Kirigiri proved to be terrifyingly good with a knife as evidenced as she sliced and diced away with Maizono’s help. I, on the other hand, was in charge of seasoning and stirring and such. With the three of us, it didn’t take long before all we had to do was wait for it to simmer. Maizono was seemingly happier, she wasn’t like her old self but she was at least smiling without the uneasiness. The pop idol grabbed some cutlery and headed for the table in the connected room where she said she’d wait for us, therefore leaving us alone to finish up.

I found myself staring at the detective as she grabbed some plates, picking up my train of thought from earlier. To say that I wasn’t very well experienced in the whole relationship thing would be a bit of a understatement considering the only type of relationship I’ve ever been a part of were the sort in lower school where it lasts less than a week and neither people actually talk to each other. We are a couple right? Does Kyoko even want me to be more intimate with her? She isn’t exactly the lovey-dovey type, or well it doesn’t seem like it. That said, that may be because of the fact that she guards her emotions. Also, when she has let the mask slip she actually does seem more girly on the inside. God why are girls so confusing… Girls like spontaneity right? Right? Should I be more spontaneous?

With this thought, an idea grew inside the back of my mind. I looked around the kitchen to verify that it was indeed empty as well as checking that there wasn’t anyone about to saunter in. I approached her silently from behind as she plated up the food. After steeling my nerves, I gently wrapped my arms around her waist. It undoubtedly felt nice holding the detective, my arms gently squeezed around her figure.  This action obviously caused the detective to jump in surprise.

“W-What are you doing Makoto?” She said, trying to control her tone.

Good question. What the hell am I doing?

 “I d-don’t know…” I answered bashfully, trying to ignore the fact that I had to stand on my tippy-toes to be able to rest my head on her shoulder. “T-Trying to be cute? Romantic?”

Kyoko turned around the face me, but didn’t push me away from her. In fact she awkwardly draped her arms around my neck

“And why are you trying to be romantic?”

I went to open my mouth, but any words I had disappeared from my mind as I realised how very close we were. With the feeling of heat rising up my cheeks, I stared into the deep amethyst pools that were her eyes that only served to entrance me and draw me ever so closer.

“Uh-Urm W-Well we are together, right? So I thought its normal and that you would want me too”

I dropped my gaze suddenly, desperately trying to hide from her gaze and to hide my blushing cheeks. Kirigiri replied, to my surprise, with a short but light hearted laugh.

“Dork…”

“Wha-?” I gasped as I returned my gaze forward.

“Listen Makoto, I like you for you so don’t feel like you have to change for me. Just do what you’re comfortable with and I’ll be happy, clear?”

I would be lying if I said that the scene in front of me wasn’t incredibly enticing. From her luscious hair that framed her features perfectly, to her plump and flawless lips that glimmered ever so slightly in the artificial light of the kitchen, to the dusting of pink that covered her cheeks and nose.

“Crystal…”

Kyoko balled her fists in my jacket to drag me towards her, even though I wasn’t going to put up a fight about it, and pressed her lips to mine. This meeting of lips was quite different from our brutish and panic-stricken first kiss. Gentler yet hungrier, more curious and definitely less chaste then the previously mentioned peck. Through my hazy thoughts, my senses picked up small little things like the smell of some sort of fruit from her perfume that I couldn’t quite discern or the slight taste of cherry on her lips. Her hands roamed up my back until they got to my hair and tangled themselves within locks of messy hair, all the while my hands stayed loyal to her waist. She relinquished her grasp of me before handing me two plates.

“C’mon, we don’t want to keep our friend waiting…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYYY! Guess who's back!   
> So there are a couple of reasons for my absence and i shall list them  
> 1\. my laptop needed fixing  
> 2\. Tests  
> 3> less free time because im playing football again  
> 4\. Dragon age Inquisition
> 
> Anyways please comment and kudos it seriosuly make me smile and have a great day people


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